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You are here: Hotels & Destinations > Huascaran National Park

Huascaran National Park

Huascaran National Park was created in 1975 with the purpose of preserving the wild animal and plant life, geological formations, archaeological sites, and beautiful scenery. UNESCO placed it on the Natural World Heritage List in 1985. Inside the 340.000 hectares, which include almost the entire White Cordillera, you can observe the great variety of high Andean plant life like the Puyas Raimondi in the areas of Quesque and Pumapampa (this flower is considered the biggest in the plant realm, and once it has blossomed, the plant dies), and the queñual trees in the Llanganuco Lakes.
Among the 296 lakes of the park, the most outstanding are Paron, Culliconcha, Llanganuco, Auquiscocha, Rajucolta, Querococha, and Cuchillococha. Of its 663 glaciers, the most impressive are Huascaran, Huandoy, Chopicalqui, Hualcan, and Alpamayo.
It also houses a great diversity of birds and animals such as the Andean puma, yellow tail deer, Andean cats, and three endangered species, the spectacled bear, the Andean deer, the Andean condor. There are different entrances to the park to be chosen according to the interest of the visitor. The most important entrances are the one by the Llanganuco sector, where Lake Chinancocha is (beautifully turquoise in color), that of Orconconcha, and the entrance by the Carpa sector, which allows access to snow capped Mount Pastoruri.

The GLACIERS of the Cordillera Blanca are very important to life in the valley of the Callejon de Huaylas. They provide water for the irrigation of the puna grasslands and keep the main Santa river free from drought the whole year. They also support the life of the hydroelectric powerstation of Cañón del Pato and form many beautiful lagoons. The estimated number of glaciers is 260. All of them are over 4000m above sea level; 185 are located on the western slopes and 75 on the eastern slopes. As is the case with all of the Andean glaciers, the Cordillera Blanca has witnessed a major retreat of its glaciers during the 20th century due to global warming. Studies have shown a retreat of over 15% since the 1970s.[4] Some glaciers, such as the Broggi Glacier, have disappeared altogether with many experts warning that all of the glaciers may be gone within the coming decades.
A small selection of the more famous peaks are listed below.

Huascarán Sur
6,768 m (22,200 ft)
Huascarán Norte
6,655 m (21,830 ft)
Huandoy Norte
6,395 m (20,980 ft)
Nevado Huantsan
6,395 m (20,980 ft)
Chopicalqui
6,354 m (20,850 ft)
Copa
6,188 m (20,300 ft)
Hualcan
6,122 m (20,090 ft)
Chacraraju
6,112 m (20,050 ft)
Artesonraju
5,999 m (19,680 ft)
Alpamayo
5,947 m (19,510 ft)
Nevado Pisco
5,752 m (18,870 ft)


The LAGONS: The Laguna Parón – the biggest in the Cordillera Blanca – is considered to be the most beautiful of all the lagoons created by the glaciers. It is located just north of Huandoy Mountain, in Caraz. Its water coloration is a deep turquoise blue.
Other famous lagoons are the two in the Llanganuco valley: Laguna Chinancocha (female lagoon) and Laguna Orconcocha (male lagoon). These lagoons have green-turquoise water and are frequently visited by tourists. They are surrounded by quenoa forests at the foot of Huascarán. It is possible to drive the 25 km to these lagoons by a gravel road, leaving the Callejon de Huaylas highway near the re-built town of Yungay.
Under the snow peaks of Artesonraju and Alpamayo, there are two more beautiful lagoons: Laguna Santa Cruz Chica and Laguna Santa Cruz Grande. The only way to get to these two lagoons is by trekking or taking a horse from Caraz.

In the Callejon de Huaylas, there are no fewer than 22 HOT SPRINGS, of which Monterrey, at 2073m above sea level, stands out because of its tourist infrastructure. It has swimming pools and individual and family ponds. Its sodium chloride water gets up to 49 °C. They are prescribed for rheumatic conditions, chronic nervousness, palsy, etc.
There are more basic hot springs at Chancos (30 km north of Huaraz), Chavín, Mancos, Pomabamba, Andamarca, Jocos, Tablachaca, Pato, Olleros and Llaclla.